Every racing season produces owners who enjoy trophy after trophy, while others can go through an entire campaign without seeing their horses earn a single dollar in prize money. STARRY SHOW and SHAMZ had originally been two of the most notable names on the 2025/26 zero-prize-money list, but both struck late at Happy Valley on 15 July to escape the unwanted statistic before the end of the season. STARRY SHOW won a Class 4 contest over 1,200 metres, while SHAMZ also broke through on the same card.
Based on a review of Hong Kong Jockey Club season records, after excluding those two horses and ten overseas runners who visited Hong Kong for international races, 189 locally trained horses finished the season without earning any prize money. Collectively, they made 562 starts. Of those horses, 56 have since been retired, while 133 remain in training.
By number of horses, W Y So had the largest group, with 16 zero-prize-money runners making a combined 44 starts, 13 of which remain in training. C H Yip was next with 15, while David Hayes, Manfred Man and Danny Shum each had 13. If ranked by total starts instead, Manfred Man topped the list with 48 appearances, followed by Yip with 47, Hayes with 45 and So with 44.
Among individual horses, Frankie Lor-trained ORIGIN OF FORM went through the entire season without earning prize money despite making ten starts, the highest number among the group. CORNERSTONE, TACTICAL VICTORY, LIGHTNESS OF BEING and PRESTIGE SUPERIOR each made eight appearances without collecting any prize money.
However, a zero-prize-money season does not necessarily mean a horse should automatically be discarded in the new campaign. Some horses need time to acclimatise to Hong Kong or to drop to a more competitive rating. A change in distance or racecourse, new gear, significant improvement in barrier trials or a favourable draw can all provide reasons for reassessment. As STARRY SHOW and SHAMZ demonstrated with their late-season breakthroughs, this zero-prize-money list may serve as both a warning guide and a potential source of long-priced improvers for the new season.